Skip to main content

Barry Cornwall's Latest Poem

From Winchester News, August 18, 1865, are two short poems, possibly both by Barry Cornwall, but the first almost certainly is his. This front-page news reads:

Should you dream ever of the days departed—

Of youth and morning no more to return—

Forget not me, so fond and passionate-hearted :

Quiet at last, reposing

Under the moss and fern.

 

There, where the fretful lake in stormy weather

Comes circling round the reddening churchyard pines,

Rest, and call back the hours we lost together,

Taking of hope, and soaring

Beyond poor earth’s confines. 

 

If, for those heavenly dreams too dimly sighted,

You became false—why, ’tis a story old ;

I, overcome by pain and unrequited,

Faded at last, and slumber

Under the autumn mould.

 

Farewell, farewell ! No longer plighted lovers,

Doomed for a day to sigh for sweet return;

One lives, indeed; one-heart the green earth covers—

Quiet at last, reposing

Under the moss and fern.

I've been hoping to uncover some local writing talent in my searches and thought perhaps I had found another person like C. Toler Wolfe. Not precisely! 
 
Bryan Wallace Procter, aka Barry Cornwall, from An Autobiographical Fragment and Biographical Notes

If you've been reading for a while, you might remember my first post about The Storm by Adelaide Procter also featured poetry. Barry Cornwall is the nom de plume of her father, Bryan Procter. This particular poem usually appears printed anonymously and under various titles, but the "official" title per the printing of his unpublished verse after his death is given as "Exhumo" or "Ex Humo." It looks like the first printing may have occurred in 1864 in a periodical titled The Month, so it took about a year for the poem to make it across the Atlantic and through the Civil War blockades to America.

The timing of this poem and the subject matter were suspiciously confluent to an event that occurred that year. Adelaide died in February of 1864, and Wikipedia claims most of Cornwall's poetry was published much earlier. It seems like this ode may have been inspired at least in part by his daughter's death. This hunch seems to be repeated in his biographical sketch:
The two great points of personal interest in Mr. Procter's later life were, first, the very distinguished position suddenly taken by his beloved daughter, Adelaide, as a poetess; and, secondly, her premature death, in 1864. [1]
Despite Cornwall/Procter's reputation as a talented poet in England during his life, many collections by the early 1900s started attributing this poem as anonymous. Much like his daughter, he is largely forgotten today, perhaps based on criticism implying his work was derivative of other notable writers of his era. While Wikipedia claims he was "rather unknown" outside of England, the fact that his latest poem to reach Winchester was printed front and center of the newspaper indicates he was perhaps more widely known and celebrated than commonly believed. A quick search brought up a reprinted poem as late as 1931, and contemporary articles indicate the identity of Barry Cornwall was an "open secret."

If this little example of his work has whet your appetite, you can explore both his poetry and prose at the Internet Archive.

Enjoy these posts?

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Valentine Romance

This story appeared in the Charlotte Gazette, Feb. 28, 1895 after being picked up from the New York Ledger (at a time when comic valentines were common but beginning to wane). The author, J.L. Harbour, appears to be a prolific late 19th century to early 20th century writer. By one account , he had written over 600 short stories by 1902. A sketch of his life written the same year states, "He began to send original stories, such as brought to view and tended to correct life's inharmonies, lapses and weaknesses, to eastern journals, and among others to the Youth's Companion , whose editors recognized his gift even in its immaturity."  This short work appears to have been written before he became widely known for "Papa and the Boy" and "The Mourning Veil," but it provides a glimpse of his writing style and sensibilities in humor and character studies. Like many other authors we have investigated here, his work has generally been forgotten by today...

A Peace-Offering, a Valentine Story

This short story, aimed at young readers, appeared in the West Virginia Argus on February 27, 1885 . The credit line attributes this tale to Frances B. Currie, and the story was reprinted from the N. Y. Examiner. She appears to have been a frequent contributor to Frank Leslie's publications , but unlike J. L. Harbour, no biography has been found yet to shed more light on her life and output.  Since this story should also be out of copyright in the US, we have reprinted the entire story for your enjoyment. A PEACE-OFFERING.  A Valentine Story with a Moral, for Young Readers.  Margery Wright was not a beauty. Even the most charitable person in the world could not admit that she had the smallest claim to such a title. The boys in the Delving Seminary said that Margery had a "squat” figure and a “pug" nose. They also alluded to her mouth in a way that brought angry tears into her eyes. They said it opened like a pair of oyster-tongs. These young gentlemen had lived for twelve...

Conrad House Addenda

I was invited to speak at the event unveiling a new historical plaque concerning the Conrad House and the door at the Joint Judicial Center on Friday (part of why the blog has been fairly quiet recently). The presentation will be printed in an upcoming version of the Journal. As usual, I took some questions from the audience at the end of my lecture. That's always a good way to see what I might have overlooked in my first pass through a topic. While I don't know if anyone at the presentation who asked questions will follow up with my blog, here are a few answers to their questions (and others).  Due to the more recent nature of many of the questions and heavy reliance on the Winchester Star, you may need to have your Handley Regional Library card barcode handy and create a free account at newspaperarchive.com to access the full articles linked here. The Property Layout: The property consisted of four lots in total originally: two faced Cameron Street, and two faced Kent Street,...